Ambrose Women for Social Justice
Fourth Annual Social and Economic Justice Lectures
The 2008 lecture series will highlight the challenges and victories of Haitian women. In part, this theme links with the 2007-08 St. Ambrose University first year book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, in which Tracey Kidder presents the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer and Partners for Health, a non-governmental organization founded to meet Haitian health needs. This series will also explore the academic theme of coexistence by considering the uneasy and often deeply troubled relationships between Haitians and Dominicans on the island of Hispaniola. This series will focus on Haitian women not as passive victims of the global economy, but rather as active agents of change working to better their lives. By giving a human face to women in Haiti, AWSJ hope to inspire the audience to consider ways they can join Haitian women in solidarity for a more just global economy.
Tuesday, Feb. 5
3:30 p.m., Lecture
Dr. Rose-Marie Chierici, a native of Haiti and associate professor of anthropology at SUNY-Geneseo, has collaborated with Dr. Paul Farmer for 12 years. She will talk about social justice for the women of Haiti. Chierici's research focuses on the interactions of gender and globalization, and her work is also informed by her many years of community development work in Borgne, Haiti.
6:30 p.m., Film, “The Sugar Babies: The Plight of Agricultural Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic”
Documentary screening followed by a panel discussion with the film's producer Amy Serrano, and Dr. Rose-Marie Chierici. “Sugar Babies” examines the moral price of sugar—present and past—from the perspective of the conditions surrounding the children of sugar cane cutters of Haitian ancestry in the Dominican Republic.
Amy Serrano, an accomplished producer, directed “A Woman’s Place: Voices of Contemporary Hispanic-American Women” featuring Isabel Allende and other barrier breaking women for PBS. Serrano also produced the award winning “Adios Patria? The Cuban Exodus” (Berlin Film Festival, Best Documentary New York Independent Film and Video Festival, PBS).
Monday, March 17,
7 p.m.
Screening of “Poto Mitan: Haitian Women Pillars of the Global Economy” followed by discussion with co-producer and co-director Mark Schuller, who also teaches at Vassar College and is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
Tuesday, March 25,
7 p.m.
Dr. Eugenio Matibag, author of Haitian-Dominican Counterpoint and director of the Center for American Intercultural Studies at Iowa State University, will speak about Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
All events will be held in the Rogalski Center on the St. Ambrose campus
For more information contact Katy Strzepek, 563/333-6000, ext. 4235.